Engine muffler



vw w h hfifiv Q I I I l I I 2 SheetsSheet l ENGINE MUFFLER C. L. GARDNERFiled Feb. 16, 1948 Jan. 16, 1951 w/ vw mm Colon L. Gardner INVENTOR.

1 BY @ewami.

Wm/915M Jan. 16, 1951 c. GARDNER ENGINE MUFFLER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledFeb. 16, 1948 Colon L. Gardner INVENTOR.

Patented Jan. 16, 1951 TATfEiS PATENT oFFicE ENGINE MUFFLER,

:C-olon-L-iGardner, Concord,.N. C. 'Applicat'ionTebruary 16, 1948,Serial No. 8,'64'8 elcGlaim. ,1

This 1 invention:relates generally 'to mufiiers for internal combustionengines, and more particularly to a mufiier in which theexhaust gases 1are forced to --trave1 through water prior *to an escape thereof intothe atmosphere.

It isa'primary object of this invention-topicvide'a muffler whi-ohthehighly heated exhaust gases, -often carrying "burning ----orincandescent particles-of carbonparemade totravel through a"vvaterreservoir, thus quenching the burning particles and-making theinternal --combustion--engine *sa'fe ior operation adjacent'eXt-remelydry and in- 'flamma blemateri'als.

Another objector this invention, ancillary to "thepreceding object, isto provide a=mufiler which 'ma-y be "used "to make automotive vehiclessafe "for operation in coal mines and other places where inflammablegases are likely to be encountered, in "barns and -graineries and "otherbuildings -where dust la'den 'air provides hazard inasmuch as thisdust-laden'air often becomes ignited and explodes with terrific *force,"and 1 in other localities where excessivelyhot gases or gasescontainingburning parbonwould-be dangerous.

Another "object of this invention is to provide a muffier for internalcombustion engines-which will-reduce the content of obnoxious gasesordinarily' existing in the exhaust from internal combustion engines.

Still another-obj eot of thisinvention is to providea mu'iilerwhichvvill reduce the-noise incident "in'the operation of an internalcombustion engine to the greatest'extentpossible compatible :witheflicient operationof theengine'that is, to reduce the noise ofoperation Without causing undue "back p-ressure on the. cylinders of'theengine.

'Itis a still further object oflthisxinvention to employ the surroundingatmospheric airfor coolingthe water; as Well as 'for cooling thegasesim- 'mediately above the Water reservoir, this airlcool- 'ing' beingaccomplished by provision of a, plurality of pipes" leading through. themother casing.

ZStill .anothenobiect .of-. this inventionlis to. pro-.vide'limprovedfbaifle means which .each ibailie is fiiformed. into. aplurality. of. relativelylin'clined. por- Ltions, the'lowermostportions, that is; the portions .t-immediately abovelthewater.reservoinebeing. incl ine'd-.at..a greater v.anglesto theverticalthanare the portions above .these...lowermostgaortions.

Yet another object of this invention isatoprovide a mufller\vith-iaecoinplement of parts including a water gauge to show the levelof the Water in the reservoir, a float valve assembly to control thislevelgmeansfacilitatingrthexapplication of chemicals for suitablychemically burdening the Water in the reservoir, and-finally for makingthe 'muiiler-very easily-cleaned, the last feature beingaccomplished-by:niaking'the'itop of the muflierremovable and byprcv-idinga-cleaneout, plugainthe Still another-dialect is to provide-apitchedbr ridged roof for the mufiier "and @to incorporate with thispitchedroof-an-imprmed water trap construction, this water itrapcooperating with the air cooling pipes and theenovel baiile constructionto make thismuffler-highlyefiicient and'economical in its-use of-water.

And a lastobject to be mentioned specifically is to provide a inn-filerconstruction-whichis relatively inexpensive .and ;practicable .to.manufacture," which is -extremeiy safe, simple andconven- 'ient touse,to-maintainand toclean, and which -out intheappendedclainmendillustratedin the accompanying drawings which form .a. material .part ofthis. application, [and in which:

Figure-iris.averticalseotional View of theassembled mnfileriviththeiloat valweassembly used to control theleveloflthe waterinthelreservoir, portions of themmiiernasing and valve assembly casingbeingcshown iii-elevation, to facilitate the illustration ofthelfloatvalve construction ,and'to indicate how=theair coolingpipes .areterminally welded to-thesides of -the casing of the muffler;

Figure 2 is a toplplan view oithe structure illustrated -in.-Figure,1.,.,a; portion of the pitched roof of the inufilerbeing broken away toillustrate theconstruction of the baffle plates as viewed in plan;

Figure 31s a top plan view of the float valve assembly-withthetop-platethereof removed;

"Figure 4 is a threedimensional View of one of the brackets usedtosu-pport the valve assembly on the side of the muffler casing; and

:Figure 5. isa horizontal sectional view of an upper portion of themufiier, the viewbeingtaken on a plane substantially on theline: 5-15,in Figure 1.

vSimilar characters'of reference designate. similar or identical elementand portions through- :Referringnowtothe drawings in detail, the

environment wherewith this invention isl-adapted to be" u d'wiilrinclude an internal combustion engine having an exhaust pipesecurable to an inlet I0, and a source of cold water connected to theinlet pipe I2 in the float valve assembly generally indicated by thenumeral 14.

This invention envisages inclusion of a muiiler casing I6 which isrepresented in the drawings as substantially square in cross section,although this peculiar shape is not necessarily adhered to and thisinvention may be adapted for use with cylindrical and otherwise shapedcasings. The casing I6 is provided with a sloping floor I8 having aclean-out plug at the lowest point thereof, and the upper end of thecasing is closed by a pitched or ridged roof 22 removably secured to thecasing, as indicated by the bolt 24 so as to facilitate the cleaning ofthe muffler.

A single long bafiie 26 extends from the upper end of the casingdownwardly to within a short distance from the floor is, this baflie 26being bent into a plurality of angularly disposed portions and thisbaflle is positioned adjacent the inlet I!) so as to direct exhaustgases entering the casing I6 downwardly into the base portion of thecasing which in operation will be filled with water and which will bereferred to herein as the water reservoir 28.

A plurality of substantially similar baflie plates 30 and 32 arearranged in substantially parallel relationship within the upper portionof the casing I6 and adjacent pairs of said baffles 36 and 32 areconnected by top wall structure 34 and the vertical edges of each of thebafiles 3E! and 32 are welded to the adjacent vertical side walls of thecasing I6. Since the top wall structure 34 closes the space betweenintegral pairs of baffles 30 and 32, access of gases from the waterreservoir upwardly through the casing is restricted to the tubes 36between adjacent bafiies 30 and 32 which are not connected by wallstructure 34. It should be carefully noted that each of these bafiles iscomprised of a plurality of portionswhich are bent in zig-zag fashion,with the lowermost portions of the baffles 38 being inclined at greaterangles to the vertical than are the lowermost portions of the bafiles32, thus giving a slightly altered baiiie action immediately above thewater reservoir 28.

A plurality of air cooling pipes 38 are terminally welded to thevertical sides of the casing I6 as indicated at these air cooling pipesbeing disposed above the reservoir 28, and these pipes are cooled byatmospheric air entering from the sides of the casing. A similarconstruction, involving the use of a plurality of air cooling pipes 42is used to cool the water in the water reservoir 28. It will be notedthat in each case the pipes 38 and 42 are welded internally of thecasing I6, and heat is, of course, transferred from the gases above thewater reservoir 28 and from the Water in the reservoir 28, through thepipes 38 and 42 to atmospheric air within these pipes.

A pipe 44 is connected by a nipple 46 and the roof 22 so as tofacilitate introduction of solvent or other chemicals wherewith thewater in the reservoir 28 may be burdened to facilitate the cleaning ofthe mufiler, the absorption of certain gases and for other purposes.

A water trap generally indicated by the numeral 48 is incorporated withthe lower end of a gas exhaust outlet tube 56, this tube extending tothe topof the roof 22. The lower end of the tube 50 has an out-turnedsubstantially horizontal flange 52 which is apertured. as at. 5

and which carries an inverted pyramidal basin 56. The upper edges ofthis inverted basin 55 extend close to the roof 22 and above the levelof the flange 52, while the lower end of the basin is apertured as at58. It will be seen that an effective water trap is thus provided fortrapping water carried upwardly by the exhaust gases to the roof 22, andit will be clear that water condensing out of these gases will tricklethrough the aperture 58 and return to the water reservoir through one orother of the tubes 36.

A sight gauge 66 is incorporated with the wall of the casing It toindicate the level of water in the Water reservoir, and the float valveassembly I4 is connected to this water reservoir by a tube 62, while thecasing 64 for the float 66 is mounted on the casing I6 by means ofsubstantially U-shaped brackets 68 which may be welded to the casing 64and bolted as at Hi to the casing I6. The float chamber or casing 64communicates with a valve I0 through an aperture I2 in a top wall i4 ofthe float chamber or casing, and a rocker arm 16 is used to Rink thefloat E6 operatively with the valve i9, this rocker arm i6 being pivotedon the top wall 174, and a spring I8 is used to urge the valve it intoopen position when the float I6 falls as a result of the Water reachingtoo low a level in the reservoir 28. The valve chamber may be ofconventional character and will, of course, communicate with the inletpipe I2, while a top plate for the valve assembly Will be provided so asto make the various parts of the valve assembly of easy access.

The operation of this invention will be clearly understood from theforegoing description of the mechanical details thereof, taken inconnection with the drawings and with the recitation of objects soughtto be achieved by this invention. It is believed that all the objectsrecited are amply achieved by this invention and that exhaust gasesafter being processed by the muffler will escape through the exhaustoutlet tube 50 completely quenched of all burning particles and relievedof a large proportion of the noxious gases contained therein.

Minor variations may be made in the exact construction andproportionment of the various elements of this invention withoutdeparture from the spirit and scope thereof and the scope of thisinvention should be determined only in accordance with a properinterpretation of the terminology used in the subjoined claim.

Having described the invention, what is'claimed as new is:

A mufller for connection to an engine exhaust, comprising a casinghaving an inlet connected to said exhaust, a water reservoir in thebottom of said casing, a bafile directing exhaust gases from said inletinto said reservoir, a plurality of baffles mounted in said casing abovesaid reservoir, a pitched roof on said casing, and a gas outlet tubethrough the highest part of said roof, said outlet tube extending intosaid casing and having a water trap on the lower end thereof comprisinga substantially horizontal out-turned flange on the outlet tube,apertures in said flange, and an inverted pyramidal basin secured to theperiphery of said flange and having its upper edges adjacent said roofand being apertured centrally.

COLON L. GARDNER.

( efe ences on following page) REFERENCES CITED The following referencesare of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 238,905 Huber Mar. 15, 18811,214,372 Romberger Jan. 30, 1917 1,339,609 Stinson May 11, 1920 NumberAllardice Mar. 25,1941

